innovation DAILY

Here we highlight selected innovation related articles from around the world on a daily basis. These articles related to innovation and funding for innovative companies, and best practices for innovation based economic development.

Offering space in exchange for payment has become the tried and tested technique of monetising online properties. And rightly so; the number of eyeballs glued to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the wider internet on a daily basis make the world’s largest platforms the world’s most valuable. This model has created a wide range of paid media products to choose from – leading to media plans that are awash with Facebook Like ads, YouTube InView ads and promoted Tweets.

Software and online services are in a period of dizzying growth. Year-old companies are turning down billion-dollar buyouts in the hopes of multibillions in a few months. But we have seen similar industry phases before, and they have often ended with growth and valuations fizzling out. The industry’s booms and busts make growth, an essential ingredient in value creation, difficult to understand. To date, little empirical work has been done on the importance of revenue growth for software and Internet-services companies or how to find new sources of growth when old ones run out.

A long-distance swimmer seeking to become the first British man to complete the Ocean's Seven, a group of seven long-distance swims around the world, was protected on his journey by a pod of dolphins who scared off a shark, according to the swimmer's support team. Adam Walker was swimming the approximately 16-mile long Cook Strait off the New Zealand coast last Tuesday when he spotted a shark in the water below him. Just as his fears began to rise, Walker said he was surrounded by a pod of around 10 dolphins that swam with him for more than an hour.

While classified as a high-income country by the OECD, youth unemployment rates in Greece persist at around 60 percent. Despite gains in economic freedom, major fiscal weaknesses remain. With more people finding it acceptable to start a business, Greek entrepreneurs are taking their economic transformation into their own hands with networks well beyond their borders.

"Silicon Allee," Berlin's burgeoning tech scene, has become a global hotbed for start-ups. Revenue from IT, the city's fastest growing sector, rose 20 percent last year to €2.2 billion, according to Investitionsbank Berlin. Cheap rent, an affordable infrastructure, and a creative culture have attracted young entrepreneurs and developers with ambitious start-up ideas to partake in the city's thriving digital landscape.

The UpTake: When an entrepreneur launches a company, he or she is taking a gamble that their idea will work, but what happens if it fails? We asked a professor who analyzes startups about business failure and how to deal with it.

When running up against a deadline, pulling an all-nighter may seem your only option to complete a project, but a recent study published in the Swedish journal, Sleep showed that, rather than boosting productivity, staying up all night is actually harmful to your brain.

The researchers measured blood levels of certain proteins associated with brain injuries such as concussions and found protein levels were 20% higher in those who pulled all-nighters compared to when they got a full night's rest. Although not as high as protein levels post-concussion, the study proves skimping on sleep can do real brain damage.

Venture funding is going strong in Silicon Valley — but not if you are a woman or minority entrepreneur. A study by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire found that of 67,000 angel investor deals in 2012, 4 percent involved women-owned startups and less than 1 percent involved minority-owned ventures.

Image: Photo by Womble Carlyle - “There are plenty of good companies out there that are not getting this capital,” said George Scott Jr., a corporate transaction attorney with Womble Carlyle who will moderate an event aimed at linking investors with minority- and women-owned startups.

TAMPA, Fla., April 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Should universities change their faculty tenure and promotion calculus based on research and publication to one that recognizes and includes faculty research activities that translate into patents, licensing and commercialization of products?

Hate to break it to you, but if you want one of the best jobs you'll have to learn how to code. Or do complex math. Or decipher data. Or all of the above.

For those that already have these skills, your bank balance probably shows it. According to CareerCast's "Best Jobs of 2014" report, employers are paying big bucks to lure employees that understand data, code and math (which really translates to "data analytics"). In fact, jobs that depend on these geeky skills comprise half of the top 10 jobs of 2014.

As the recovery from the Great Recession stretches into its fifth year, the locus of economic momentum has shifted. In the early years of the recession, the cities that created the most jobs — sometimes the only ones — were either government- or military-dominated (Washington, D.C.; Kileen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas), or were powered by the energy boom in Texas, Oklahoma and the northern Great Plains.

A DESIGNER CLAIMS THAT HIS CONCEPT FOR A 3-D PRINTED CAST WOULD SHORTEN THE BONE-HEALING PROCESS NEARLY 40%. WE ASK HAND SURGEON MICHAEL HAUSMAN TO WEIGH IN.

199 TWEET 902 LIKE 49 SHARE In the near future, having a broken arm could look way cooler thanks to a new, black, lightweight 3-D printed cast that's patterned like latticework and which uses an ultrasound device to make bones heal more quickly. Designed by Turkish industrial designer Deniz Karasahin, the Osteoid Medical cast recently won the A’Design Award in the 3-D Printed Forms and Products Design category.

The negative descriptive words that come to mind when I think of Silicon Valley are: arrogance, pretentious, greed, overcrowded, overvalued, and stressful. I have some positive words too, but this topic is centered on the negative. Here's a very personal take on the subject...

My wife and I grew up there and spent most of our adult lives in and around San Jose. Having worked in the tech industry in the late 90's early 00's, mostly for a great little start-up company, I had a lot of fun and fully embraced that "cool" Bay Area vibe. My wife worked for a few tech start-ups as well. I still consider myself to be an entrepreneur and still know many people with that same spirit who live there. We moved out to Denver for several years and have since moved to the Roseville/Sacramento area and visit the Bay Area often.

Older people are increasingly going online, in part thanks to tablets, according to the U.K. telecommunications regulator. In one of its periodical media use reports, Ofcom noted on Tuesday that 42 percent of those aged over 65 accessed the web in 2013, up from 33 percent in 2012. The regulator linked this with an increase in tablet usage within the 65-74 demographic from 5 percent to 17 percent — I would assume that those older users who are less tech-friendly find tablets simpler to use and easier to maintain than full-blown PCs. More generally, the proportion of adults accessing the internet through a tablet jumped from 16 percent to 30 percent between 2012 and 2013.

Statistics from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) show that the tendency to be self-employed increases with income. IRS data inform our understanding of self-employment because individual income tax filings reveal which taxpayers took the self-employment tax deduction, and which did not. Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) taxes take 15.3 percent of workers’ pay to fund social security and Medicare, with half of these taxes paid by employers and half by employees. (In tax year 2013, high income earners have to pay an additional 0.9 percent Medicare tax).

Academic researchers, by nature, pursue scientifically interesting discoveries that could have a long-term impact. Meanwhile, investors and companies are interested in technologies that fill a very clear and immediate need in a market.

That difference in perspective is one thing that makes translating discoveries at academic institutions into viable products so challenging, as I learned at the Association of University Technology Managers‘ partnering forum in Cleveland last week.

The 2014 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) awarded nearly $2.9 million in cash and prizes in a record number of prizes this weekend at Rice University. Medical Adhesive Revolution of RWTH Aachen University, Germany, who developed a high-strength biodegradable surgical adhesive that can be used inside the human body to seal wounds within seconds, emerged as the top startup company winning $507,500 in the world's richest and largest student startup competition held April 10-12. This is the first time an international team has won the completion and the first time two international teams finished in the top six.

It’s your startup, so you can give early partners any title you want, but be aware of potential investor and peer implications. VCs and Angel investors like to see a startup that is running lean and mean, with no more than three or four of the conventional C-level or VP titles. More executives, or other more creative titles are seen as a big red flag.

It is a frequently made mistake. When the Bank of England recently announced that one of the most striking features of the economic recovery has been the record 4.5 million Britons who are now self-employed, Iain Duncan Smith claimed that this was evidence that the Coalition was “reviving Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit”.

India is right now in the midst of a major golden rush: Entrepreneurship. As per a recent report by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, almost 100,000 new companies were registered in India last year! Never before in the Indian history, has such entrepreneurial fever been witnessed. As per the report, a total of 98,473 new companies were registered last year, which collectively raised Rs 39,000 crore of capital in different segments of business.

Over the last decade, entrepreneurship has come to the fore, not simply as a means of job creation and reviving the economy, but also as a means of introducing new ways of thinking and problem solving. Some experts have also suggested that entrepreneurship ought to be a way of life.

I recently had the pleasure of being part of a panel for Generation W, a wonderful event held in Jacksonville, FL, where women were inspired to impact change for themselves, their communities and the world. My panel focused on social entrepreneurship, a topic I know well since launching GreenHouse Eco-Cleaning, a company that is built upon the principle of doing well while doing good.

There is widespread consensus that crowdfunding is a boon, an egalitarian means for bringing great products and services to market without relying on banks, venture capitalists, or established financial angels. Myriad platforms now allow people with stunning epiphanies and folks with a little (or a lot) of cash to get together without the red tape and angst that so often accompanies the soliciting and procuring of start-up funds.

Let us help you tell your story! SSTI’s Excellence in TBED awards program was created to recognize programs and initiatives that are improving the nation’s competitiveness through science, technology and innovation.

Apply now for the 2014 Excellence in TBED Awards by sending us a narrative that describes how your efforts are improving local, state or regional economies. Winners of this award receive complementary registration (a $675 value) to SSTI’s Annual Conference September 14-16 in Chicago, and are provided a national platform to showcase their achievement. Awards are presented in the following six categories:

IT'S NO SECRET THAT THE U.S. HAS PRETTY LOUSY WORK-LIFE POLICIES. BUT IS THE GRASS REALLY GREENER IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD? DEPENDS ON WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU. HERE, WE EXPLORE WHAT WORK WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU LIVED IN ANOTHER COUNTRY.

If you were to make a list of all the things you consider when taking a job, what would be on there? Would you include maternity leave policies, amount of vacation days, or average pay rates?

The two most important developments in American higher education in the 20th century were, arguably, contradictory. First, building on the foundation laid by the Morrill Act of 1862, which gave federal land to states to create colleges that taught "agriculture and the mechanic arts," we created the world’s first mass higher-education system. When the Carnegie Corporation of New York was founded, in 1911, "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," fewer than 3 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 were students in institutions of higher education. About 350,000 young Americans were enrolled in fewer than 1,000 institutions of higher education.

I was having dinner with a friend last night and we were chatting about venture capital and a bit about what I’ve learned. I started in 2007 with a thesis that my primary investment decision would be about the team (70%) and only afterward about the market opportunity (30%).

I was telling him that it was much easier when I started because there were fewer deals, life was less public and somehow the world seemed to be spinning more slowly. A year into my tenure the world went into economic collapse and that seemed to dominate the consciousness more than which deals one was chasing.

ByÂ nearly any account, Philadelphia has a pretty great Chinatown. It’s authentic and has great restaurants and cultural institutions. But likely no one there argues Philadelphia Chinatown should compete with China. If you’re building a technology business corridor outside of Silicon Valley, you need to think similarly. Build for you, not to be something you’re not.

Image: http://technical.ly/ -Â First Round Capital Managing Partner Josh Kopelman during a January 2013 small business think tank held by Dell in Center City Philadelphia.Â

The global innovation economy is booming across industries and geographies. Businesses large and small are capitalizing on opportunities in sofware, hardware, cleantech and healthcare. Yet looming challenges temper ambitious plans for growth, as entrepreneurs must overcome hurdles in scaling operations, finding talent and securing funding. Drawing on survey responses from more than 1,200 executives worldwide, we offer targeted and comprehensive analysis of the issues facing these companies worldwide.

Founded in Boulder, Colo., in 2006, Techstars now claims to be the number-one startup accelerator in the world. With offices in six U.S. cities and London, Techstars runs three-month-long, mentor-driven accelerator programs.

Those who are interested in a spot, however, will have to compete with a large applicant pool. According to Katie Rae, the managing director of Techstars in Boston, for every ten slots available, Techstars gets more than 1,500 startup applicants.

When Bryan Sivak joined then D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration as chief technology officer, he was fresh from building his own business. Five years later, Sivak has become something of a government-embedded entrepreneur. He left the District to become Maryland’s first chief innovation officer in 2011. He is now chief technology officer at the Department of Health and Human Services. There, he manages the IDEA Lab, a series of programs that reward innovation, bring private sector leaders into the agency, and provide employees with time and money to pursue ideas. The effort aims to infuse a sense of entre­pre­neur­ship in the risk-adverse temperament of government.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a $150 million fund the agency will use to invest in small rural businesses. The fund establishes a new Rural Business Investment Program with a new wrinkle for investment in rural ag-related companies.

The new investment fund was announced as part of the Obama administration’s “Made in Rural America” initiative. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the money will go to “innovative” rural small businesses with an emphasis on those with job creating potential.

Last year, we here at Vator did a round up of accelerators and incubators from around the country, including Austin, Chicago, and Boston, as well as some international cities including London, as well as some of the smaller countries in Europe.

It was a good way to see which cities both at home, and abroad, were becoming tech hubs, with their own ecosystems and startup communities to rival Silicon Valley.

When David Einhorn speaks, the world usually listens. That doesn't mean what he says is particularly new or even insightful.

"Now there is a clear consensus that we are witnessing our second tech bubble in 15 years," the founder of hedge fund Greenlight Capital wrote last week to his investors. "What is uncertain is how much further the bubble can expand and what might pop it."

Image: David Einhorn (right), president of hedge fund Greenlight Capital, here on Bloomberg Television last year, is already warning of a bubble because of so much money being poured into tech. Photo: Scott Eells, Bloomberg

Legend has it that notorious American hold-up man Willie Sutton, who netted an estimated $2 million between the late 1920s and his final arrest in 1952, was once asked why he robbed banks. His reply: "Because that's where the money is."

It's perfectly understandable that such ice-cold logic should also dictate the ambitions of most business school students. The majority dream of working in blue-chip companies that will reward them as handsomely as possible. They can hardly be faulted for aiming high.

I had just finished a talk on Systematic Inventive Thinking in which I had stressed the usefulness of the Subtraction technique. Just then, a group of seven men approached the stage. They introduced themselves as the management board of Standard Bank of South Africa. They liked the idea that innovation is something that can be learned and applied. They were especially interested in Subtraction. “Do you think it would help us with our problem?” asked one of the delegates.

The National Science Board (NSB) appreciates the historic strong commitment of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and to the research that NSF supports. In the face of global challenges to our Nation's scientific leadership, NSF must maintain an unwavering focus on enabling scientific breakthroughs and on supporting the next generation of scientists. These scientists' discoveries will underpin the health of the United States long into the future, especially with respect to its economic growth, prosperity, and security.

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